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Pilot
Pilot (also known as I Am Not Going to Sell Herbalux) is the premiere episode for the dramedy series Ugly Betty. It aired on September 28,2006. Summary Betty lands a job as an assistant at a fashion magazine, but her employer wants to make sure her first week on the job will be her last. Plot In this episode we are introduced to Betty Suarez, an unglamorous woman in her 20s who starts work for a fashion magazine called MODE, and in the process introduced to the harsh treatment she'll have to deal with from her more beautiful co-workers. She also meets with her boss, Daniel Meade, who was just named the new editor in chief by his father, Bradford Meade. Daniel succeeds the revered Fey Sommers, who was killed in a hit-and-run that reeks of foul play. The announcement of Daniel being named editor-in-chief does not sit well with Wilhelmina Slater, the magazine's creative editor who has been vying for the position herself. Daniel isn't so keen about having Betty working with him because she is homely, so he plots to have her quit by giving her difficult and outrageous tasks. When Betty gets wind of this from the company seamstress, Christina, she is badly hurt and says that perhaps that is the way she was supposed to land a job. After Daniel makes her stand in for an embarrassing modeling shoot, he seems to relent as Betty walks out in anger and tears. Daniel later regrets his mistake when he realizes that he is in danger of losing the Fabia cosmetics account. He is unaware that he is being sabotaged by Wilhelmina and his best friend, a photographer who has been known to plagiarize other people's work (after Betty mentions a layout he did) and is responsible for the aforementioned shoot that Betty was in. Sensing this and after seeing a new cosmetics layout proposal created by Betty, Daniel decides that he needs her. Betty eventually returns and in the process not only saves the campaign, but also his job. In her personal life, Betty has to deal with her sister Hilda, a single mother who thinks that her college-educated sister isn't cut out for work in the fashion world, and wants Betty to join her in selling Herbalux. Betty takes responsibility for her father by phoning his HMO to get treatment for his health condition. In this episode, Betty's boyfriend, Walter, dumps her for Gina, her neighbor. After going to Gina's house to complain about her dating activities, and walking in on her making out with a man that isn't Walter, Betty learns that Gina was using Walter in order to get a discount on a plasma TV. Fuming, Betty storms out of Gina's house, accidentally destroying the TV in the process. Meanwhile, Wilhelmina pays a visit to a person whose face is partially wrapped up and it is discovered that the two are already discussing behind-the-scenes sinister plans to take over Meade Publications. While she looks in the mirror, she also says that they should keep a close eye on "...that ugly assistant..." Characters Main Characters *America Ferrera as Betty Suarez *Eric Mabius as Daniel Meade *Alan Dale as Bradford Meade *Tony Plana as Ignacio Suarez *Ana Ortiz as Hilda Suarez *Ashley Jenson as Christina McKinney *Mark Indelicato as Justin Suarez *Becki Newton as Amanda Tanen *Vanessa L. Williams as Wilhelmina Slater *Michael Urie as Marc St. James *Kevin Sussman as Walter *Elizabeth Payne as Alexis Meade/Masked Woman Guest Characters *Ava Gaudet as Gina Gambarro *Stelio Savante as Steve *Gina Gershon as Fabia *Cicily Daniels as Zelda *Christine Jones as Fey Sommers *Salma Hayek as Actress on telenovela *William Abadie as Phillippe Michel *Lupita Ferrer as Rich Latina *Abigail Forman as Charmaine *David Jenkins as HR Guy *Scott Porter as Guy *Kristen Schaal as Nancy *Eric Jordan Young as Neal Delongpre *Fumi Desalu as Fashion Model *Jill Latiano as Blonde Woman Production This episode was the only one to be actually filmed in New York City until the move starting with season three. In an effort to save costs, ABC suggested that production be done in Los Angeles instead. In addition, most of the stock footage would be used for the most of the backdrops from the second episode onward. Also, most of the sets were recreated in Los Angeles. In this episode, the character of William Abadaide (the fashion photographer Philippe Michel) was supposed to be a series regular, as he was featured in the series' early promos and pictures, but has not been seen since. The sets of Daniel's apartment, Christina's office, the closet, and the Suarez' kitchen are quite different here with the rest of the series. Reception There were excellent reviews about the pilot episode. In USA Today critic Robert Bianco gave it 3 and a half stars, while Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described it as "Pretty Good". Trivia *The episode is the first ever episode of Ugly Betty *The episode got 16.32 million viewers, the most in the entire series *All the main characters got introduced in this episode